Life, 1926-07-15 · page 5 of 37
Life — July 15, 1926 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from *Life* magazine contains several short humorous pieces: **"If Anacreon"** (top right) is a poem by Harry Kemp mocking classical poets. It jokes that ancient Greek and Roman poets like Horace would have written differently if they'd encountered bootleg alcohol during Prohibition—their work would have suffered because cheap liquor quality was poor. **"Enlargement of the Heart"** tells of a man with hypochondria who visits a doctor complaining of heart trouble. The joke hinges on the doctor's diagnosis: the man's "enlarged heart" is revealed to be emotional/moral rather than medical—he's simply generous or overly sympathetic. **"Action!"** (bottom) shows a couple where one says he'd go to the world's end for the other, and the response is essentially "then get started"—a joke about marriage realities. These are typical *Life* magazine humor pieces from the Prohibition era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
nlejack: WELL, THIS 18 A F o’ Fis! 1AM READY TO PAINT TI TREPLE AN’ THEY AIN’? GOT IT BUILT YET! Enlargement of the Heart ENRY WARNER slipped into a doctor's office to e his heart examined. There had been no alarming symptoms, but he frequently felt a little tired after thirty-six holes of golf. As an inveterate user of coffee and tobacco he well knew what the doctor would order and he was prepared to make the sacrifice. After he had hopped around the office on one leg for a few seconds, which seemed to him an endurance con- test, the doctor pronounced his heart excellent. “You don’t think that I should cut down on the smok- ing and coffee?” asked Henry d the doctor. “Well, what ‘about cighteen holes of golf twice a persisted Henry anxiously. “Play as much as like,” answered the doctor. “Boy, but that’s good news, and worth a lot to me. How much do you 1 owe “Oh, that’s all right,” interrupted the doctor, “I get paid for what I do, not what I know, and I wouldn't charge you for a trifle like that.” The visitor fell to the floor and lay motionless, A few hours later the coroner an- nounced his verdict. “Heart failure,” he said, simply. A, T. Spring. Passed by the Censors ] OTHER: Don’t you think that bathing suit a trifle immodest? Ysonen: It can’t be, Mother—it Paul: came throngh the mails. If Anacreon— (Dedicated to My Bootlegger) Anacreon, kept from the joys of the grape, Had been forced by the Law to forgo . The Chian that helped him his fancies to shape And set all his dreams in a glow: If-he’d had to imbibe all his drinks on the sly— I'm sure he'd have written as badly as I! If Horace had drunk what the bootleggers brought And took nothing else for his verse Than this villainous mixture for good liquor bought, The supply of which always grows worse: His song, I opine, were as rotten as mine— Thank God, both the Greek and the Roman had WINE! Harry Kemp. Mathematics I AM not one of the twelve men in the world who un- derstand the Einstein theory perfectly, but I can gather what it is all about. The fourth dimension is not so difficult to understand. I can estimate the area of any given space at a glance. But I have never been able to figure out the method used by a folder in a hand laundry to mak ruined handkerchief look like a brand-new one. . HI. B. ° Brothers HOPE for better things in the future.” “I'm a Democrat, too!” ACTION! I WOULD GO TO THE ENDS OF THE WORLD FoR You. Enid: WELL, IT’S TIME YOU WERE GETTING STARTED. comicbooks.com